There was a time when children ran around loose and fearless, getting filthy and being perfectly reckless. Kids kicked the crap out of each other and instantly let it go, they built unsafe structures to call their own and lived far more free of the burden of being broken. At some point helmets took over, little hands made cel phone calls to check in and parental reign created a claustrophobic, false sense of safety.

In remembering a time when kids ran wild, we brewed The Hammer, The Bullet, & The Vise. A nutty and soft english brown beer brewed with all German malts to lull your mind.

so while i was drinking this, i was thinking to myself that this might well be the best brown ale i have ever had. straight up that is, no barrels or chocolate or anything. maybe even with those other things, this is near the top of the list. its big in body but the english yeast does a nice job of drying it out in the finish, coaxing the most interesting flavors out of the malt, and adding a familiarity that is comfortable for me. its much darker than the style standard, looking more like a heady porter in my glass, with notes of vanilla and dark toast coming in the aroma. in the flavor, i get some darker chocolate notes, a brown sugar raw sweetness in the middle, a fleshy grainy cereal thing, and finally the english ale yeast. its rich but drinkable, perfect for the morning and perfect for cold weather. i would have called this my favorite brown ale of 2014, but then i had their coffee brown, which took things to an entirely different level. from wonderful to unforgettable.